Improvement in horse hay-forks



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY TOTTEN, OF LEESVILLE, OHIO.

` IMPROVEMENT IN HORSE HAY-FORKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 50,5 [6, dated October 17, 1865.

fo all whom it may concewzf Be it known that I, HENRY To'r'rEN, otLeesville, Carroll county, in the State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elevating Horse Hay-Forks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and eX- act description thereof, reference being had to lthe accompanying drawing, and to the letters ot' reference thereon marked.

The drawing` is simply a side elevation of the fork, the red lines showingits position in discharging the hay or manure.

ln constructing my improved fork I iirst form three or more steel tines, a., ot` the form shown in the drawing. It will be noticed that when thefork is in its loaded position the central part, a, (about one-fourth the length of the tine,) is nearly horizontal; the rear or butt end, b, of the fork (about one-fourth of the tine) is bent up at an obtuse angle with part a of about one hundred and twenty-tive or one hundred and thirty degrees; and that the front end, 0, of the tine (about the other half ofthe tine) is bent up from the front end of the central part at about the same angle, but in the opposite direction.

'B is a wrought-iron bar of a length to suit the number ot' tines or size ot' the t'ork. In its center, and ot'abouthalfits length, is a wroughtiron standard, O, made with a shoulder to tit to bar B, so that the standard O shall be nearly vertical when the fork is suspended.

D D are two curved pieces of wrought-iron, forming the quadrant brace or handle; O, the wooden handle on the end ot' piece D.

is the swivel-bar playing on the hook Gr, and having the elevating-cord Z fast to a ring in its upper end. H is the dog which sets the fork. lt is pivoted to swivel-bar E and catches in an indentation in quadrant-brace D. It is made to catch or set by means ot spring S, riveted to upper edge of bar D. A cord, c, depends from the outer end ot' dog H, to detach its hold and allow the fork to discharge its load.

In putting the parts of my improved fork ii l' i together all ot' the tines except the central one have a simple square shoulder formed on a portion ot' their butt-ends, and these ends are simply put through square mortises in the bar B and secured by nuts n. The central tine, however, has a longer shoulder, but otherwise similar, and passes not only through a square mortise in bar B, but also through similar mortises in bar O and brace D, and through hook G. The nut e is then drawn close, thus holding all these parts together simply and firmly. A pin, t', secures the upper ends of bars O and D together.4

The operation ot' my fork is similar to that ot' implements ot' the class to which it belongs, and does not require other description than to refer to the drawing, which illustratesits loaded and unloaded positions.

By my improved construction ot' tine I ain enabled to load the fork and unload it wit-h greater ease and to discharge the hay or mnnure with more rapidity and less exertion of power than by other forks. Its exceedingly simple and strong construction precludes its becoming nntit for service by hard usage.

Having thus fully described my invent-ion, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The tines A, constructed substantially as described, so that the parts a, b, and c shall lie in planes otl different angles.

2. The construction and arrangement ot' the bar B, standard O, quadrant-brace D D', and swivel-bar E, substantially as described.

3. rlhe construction and arrangement ot' the quadrant-brace D D', swivel-bar E, hook G, and dog H, operating substantially as described.

In testimony that l c laim the above I hereunto at'tx my signature this 31st day of July, 1865.

HENRY TOTTEN. 

